I think the tragic feeling is invoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing -- his sense of personal dignity.

Charley: He won't starve. None a them starve. Forget about him. Willy: Then what have I got to remember?

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.

Playwriting is an oral art; it's not an art of a writer expecting to be read but a writer expecting to be heard.

Controlled hysteria is what's required. To exist constantly in a state of controlled hysteria. It's agony. But everyone has agony. The difference is that I try to take my agony home and teach it to sing.

The play is really a kind of nightmare. It ought to flow rapidly and effortlessly from one moment to another. In London, we had difficulty with the set, which required too much effort to move around. Having gotten the benefit of seeing it done once, I wanted to work on the script, to make it sharper and more pointed.

... so many tremendous decisions in life are made because it is five o'clock.